De'Zhaun Stribling Prospect Profile

Background

De'Zhaun Stribling was born in Honolulu and grew up in Kapolei, Hawaii, a city of about 23,000 on O'ahu. In high school, he lettered in basketball and competed in the high jump, running the 100 meters in mid-11 seconds. He attended Kapolei High School, where he made second-team All-State as a senior with 64 catches for 872 yards and nine touchdowns. The Polynesian Bowl named Stribling one of the top five offensive standouts. Stribling grew up watching Pac-12 football because it was closest to home. By following Tua Tagovailoa, he discovered the SEC. Though he could not go there initially as he Washington State. Immediately led Pac-12 freshmen in catches, yards, and touchdowns as a true freshman in 2021, Stribling led the Cougars in all three receiving categories as a sophomore in 2022, then transferred to Oklahoma State, where a broken wrist four games into 2023 ended his season before he returned in 2024 to lead a 3-9 team with 52 catches for 882 yards and six touchdowns. He transferred to Ole Miss for his last season, with his parents and an aunt moving to Oxford to live with him. In Ole Miss' magical 2025 season, he caught 55 passes for 811 yards and six touchdowns and declared for the 2026 NFL Draft.

Physical Attributes

Stribling is a supreme athlete. 6'2" 207 lbs, with this testing:

And unlike others with those athletic traits, all of it shows up on the field. he is faster than almost anyone else out there, uses his length to box out DBs, and has very solid strength as well. Always love a receiver who is faster with the ball in his hands.

Data and Tape Analysis

If you are unfamiliar with my WR radar charts, you can find more information here

There's a Jon Bois video on Lonnie Smith (if you have not seen it please watch it now) where he talks about coke use in the MLB in the 1980s and then shows how the Cardinals won the 1982 world series while most of their best players were doing coke. He pounds his fist on the table and says, "No. No, no, no. Nope... I refuse to do a 20 minute ad for cocaine," as he types hilarious stuff into Baseball Reference in the background. Today, I feel that, if for a slightly less serious topic; Lane Kiffin.

If you have read my previous profiles, you know I loathe having to project based on a Kiffin or Heupel system. That is for one reason only. These offensive systems are designed to win college football games, and they abandon player development for the long run. Winning is the #1 line of the job description for college coaches, so I get it, but I hate it. (New idea for the offseason: Which college coaches actually produce the best NFL talent?)

So all of that brings me to De'Zhaun Stribling, who has me feeling like Jon, pounding the table and saying no, no, no I cannot make an ad for a Lane Kiffin offense producing a good prospect, but here we are? I like Stribling way more than I thought I would.

The chart shows very mediocre route running grades, and I get it, but how the hell can you grade someone who, when he is not the primary or secondary receiver, just stands there 75% of the time. And this happens by design. God, I hate projecting these offenses!

So I will take what I saw, and that is enough for me. He runs incredible deep routes, and if you press him, he wins and wins quickly. He has some of the best ability against press coverage of anyone I have watched so far this draft cycle. That elite combination helps give him a base to work with on the outside in the NFL.

He is also elite with the ball in his hands and has my favorite player trait: faster with the ball than without. He does not have too many missed tackles forced, but that is more because Kiffin designs opportunities for his receivers not to have to. And if Stribling already has 2 yards on a DB when he needs to run the last 20 to the end-zone, that won't show up either.

Grade and Outlook

I feel like I am making a fool of myself falling for an Ole Miss WR, but here I am. I am building in some negative downside in my grading because they have made many an analyst look stupid. However, I believe Stribling has significant potential, and with the right coaching and environment, he could quickly become a formidable player.

Grade: 5.6 (Late 2nd Rounder / Early 3rd Rounder)